[USMA 88] "You Don't Want the Guy Who Didn't Understand the Metric System"
http://www.daily-journal.com/opinion/editorials/take-the-test-it-s-the-only-way-to-compete/article_0295fa2e-9867-5a72-95ee-2ffac8ae95a4.html Every now and then, someone scores a critical success with a lecture or book such as "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." It's clever. It appeals to those who hold that interpersonal understanding is the key to a happy life. Maybe so. But if you are an engineer, a doctor or a chemist, well, you had to learn a whole lot after kindergarten. The rest of us are appreciative of that learning, too. If you are driving over a bridge or flying in a plane, you want one designed by the "A" engineer, not the guy who didn't understand the metric system. If you are in heart surgery, you want the "A" surgeon. You probably would want your investments handled by a person great at math and analysis, rather than one with just a great smile. The federal government, under Barack Obama as it has under George W. Bush, is sticking to a series of standardized tests designed to force improvements in education. Such tests, though, still stir resistance from students and parents. Across the nation, 640,000 students refused to take the tests. Illinois was singled out as one of the offenders. We think there are a lot to be said for tests. First of all, even if you don't do well a test often points out where you need to improve. Secondly, a test is objective. You don't get marked down because your name ends in a vowel or you live on the wrong side of the tracks. It is true, certainly, that a test is a form of stress. Not everyone does well with stress. But the ability to make the right decision, under stress, is critical in all sorts of professions. It makes a difference in medicine, in law enforcement, in military service. That brings us to two concluding arguments. Does American education need to improve? In 2012, there was a worldwide Programme for International Student Assessment. Fifteen-year-olds around the world took a test designed to measure what students knew. The test was heavily weighted in math. Students in Shanghai, China, scored a mean of 613. The United States had a mean of 481. We fell behind not only China, Japan and Korea, but also some places you would not have expected. Students in Vietnam, Portugal, Ireland and Poland were better than those in the United States. Here's a dagger. Test scores seem to be tied to economic growth rates. Those countries doing the best in math seem to be improving the most in economics. Does that mean you need high level math skills and the ability to work under pressure in every job? No. But the world is competing and you are not going to win by failing to show up at the starting line. Take the test. Discover what you don't know. Than learn it. ___ USMA mailing list USMA@colostate.edu https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
[USMA 89] Creator of Periodical Table Introduced Metric System to the Russian Empire
http://www.prepsure.com/news/182nd-birthday-of-periodic-table-creator-dmitir-mendeleev-his-contribution$ 182nd Birthday of Periodic Table Creator Dmitir Mendeleev: His contribution and use of Sanskrit All you need to know about Dmitir Mendeleev, creator of Periodic Table, on his 182nd birth anniversary. Did you know that the Creator of the Periodic Table, Dmitir Mendeleev, predicted eight elements in his table using the prefixes which are derived from Sanskrit ? Today is his 182nd birth anniversary and here is all that you need to know about him and his contribution to the Periodic Table. Father of Periodic Table The famous Russian Chemist who was the inventor of the infamous Periodic Law, Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, is often regarded as the farsighted father of periodic table elements. Born in 8 February, 1834 in the village of Verkhnie Aremzyani, near Tobolsk in Siberia, Mendeleev was raised as an Orthodox Christian by his parents. He later deviated from the missionary ideas of the church and embraced deism instead at his later life. After acquiring his higher education in various parts of Russia he returned to Saint Petesberg in 1857 to cure his tuberculosis. Other Theories In the year 1864 he joined the Saint Petersburg Technological Institute and in 1865 the Saint Petersberg State University as Professor. He had developed the chemistry department of the state university to one of the most internationally recognized centres for chemistry research, with his impeccable knowledge in the subject. With 56 known elements in the year 1863, new elements were coming up at the rate of at least one per year. John Newlands and Lothar Meyer were some of the notable scientists who described their models for periodic table earlier. Newlands described it through the Law of Octaves, saying the periodicity of elements depends upon the atomic weight that they carry. On the contrary Meyer was of the view that there are 28 elements in the table that can be classified by their valence. He didnt predict any new elements in the table. What was Dmitir Mendeleev contribution to the Periodic Table? This is when Mendeleev came into picture, during his professorship at the Saint Petersberg State University. He decided to classify the elements in the periodic table through the chemical properties associated with them. He devised his own model of extended periodic table and on 06 March 1869, he presented his model to the Russian Chemical Society and named it, The Dependence between the Properties of the Atomic Weights of the Elements. He presented his own periodic table with several new predicted elements and completed it. He came out with his own periodic table in the year 1871. He named the predicted eight elements in his table using the prefixes eka, dvi and tri, which are derived from Sanskrit. This clearly proved his appreciation to the Sanskrit Grammarians of ancient India, who were the forefathers of discovering a sophisticated theory of language. It is often said that his work resembles with that of Sanskritist Bohtlingk who found the phonological patterning of sounds with the Sanskirt language in his book Panini. Mendeleev similarly found chemical properties of elements function according to their atomic weights. His predictions of rare earth elements ekaboron (Eb), ekaaluminium (Ea), ekamanganese(Em) and ekasilicon (Es) along with thorium and uranium and noble gases helium and argon, all found its place later at the periodic table. HE IS ALSO GIVEN THE CREDIT FOR INTRODUCING THE METRIC SYSTEM TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. For his outstanding contribution in the field of Chemistry, he was given the Davy Medal from the Roayal Society of London in the year 1882 along with Lothar Meyer. He died on 2 February, 1907 at the age of 72 in Saint Petersburg. ___ USMA mailing list USMA@colostate.edu https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
[USMA 87] "An Impassioned Plea for the Metric System"
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/02/food-lab-cooking-science-kenji-lopez-alt The food lab: better home cooking through science 10 February 2016 J. Kenji Lpez-Alt W W Norton & Company 2015 | 938pp | 26.40 ISBN 9780393081084 Reviewed by Yuandi Li The professional kitchen is often seen as a military operation, with the teamwork and clearly defined chain of command. The head chef barks orders and the cooks dutifully respond oui, chef! Perhaps this is why cookbooks only tell you what to do without telling you the reason. Just as soldiers do not question why they need to carry out their mission, you do not question why you have to rest your roast before carving. Then Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal came along. By questioning the orthodoxy and applying chemistry and physics, their new approach caused a lasting revolution in haute cuisine (attested by the ubiquity of foams, liquid nitrogen ice cream and sous-vide cooking). Understandably, such cookery is often seen as pretentious or inaccessible by those that just want a simple home-cooked meal. However, science is indiscriminate and what improves Michelin-star food can also improve your sausages and mash. J. Kenji Lpez-Alts The food lab is both a science textbook and cookbook that brings modernist cooking to the home kitchen with the tools to exercise our own creativity. With an infectious enthusiasm, Lpez-Alt applies the scientific method to explain things like why fried eggs can have a runny yolk despite the higher coagulation temperature of whites; why salads must be dressed at the last moment; and, indeed, why you must rest meat. The food lab assumes no knowledge of science or cookery and provides a thorough grounding on many common dishes and ingredients. For each, he explains the underlying scientific principles and cooking techniques before demonstrating them with some easy-to-make and very delicious recipes. The dishes are generally American (a highly underrated cuisine on the Eastern side of the Atlantic), with recipes catering for every course apart from dessert. It is also very much home cooking and does not require any fancy ingredients or equipment although Lpez-Alt does provide an in-depth introduction to a myriad of kitchen gear (prepare to get nerdy about knives!). The only criticism is that despite CONTAINING AN IMPASSIONED PLEA FOR THE METRIC SYSTEM, the book is understandably written for its American audience and is rife with Imperial measurements. The books modularity means you can work through it like a textbook or simply find a specific recipe. However, you truly do get back what you put in. As such, it wont inspire those who have no current interest in cuisine, but for everyone else, it is the only book you need to become a seriously good cook. ___ USMA mailing list USMA@colostate.edu https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
